Travis Kelce.Photo:Ezra Shaw/Getty
Ezra Shaw/Getty
Most players in the NFL smoke marijuana, and these days few are being reprimanded for the once frowned upon practice, according to two-time Super Bowl championTravis Kelce.The 33-year-old Kansas City Chiefs tight end, who was once suspended for an entire season for smoking marijuana at the University of Cincinnati, tellsVanity Fairthis week that the league’s recently adjusted drug testing policy has made it easier for players to continue the habit most of the year.“If you just stop in the middle of July, you’re fine,” he tells the outlet. “A lot of guys stop a week before and they still pass because everybody’s working out in the heat and sweating their tail off. Nobody’s really getting hit for it anymore.”
In 2021, as many states across the country continued legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, the NFL announced it was reworking its drug testing policy to refrain from testing players for THC during the offseason.
Travis Kelce.William Purnell/Icon Sportswire via Getty
William Purnell/Icon Sportswire via Getty
Colorado and Washington state first legalized recreational use in 2012, and dozens of states have since adjusted their laws pertaining to marijuana. As of 2023, recreational marijuana is legal in 23 U.S. states while many other states have at least made it legal for medical use, according toCBS. The drug is still illegal federally, however.
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Travis Kelce.Kyle Rivas/Getty
Kyle Rivas/Getty
Surveys have also shown support for marijuana use has risen among all age groups in recent years, according toThe Associated Press. But perceptions have rapidly changed, as Kelce well knows.A little more than a decade ago, the star tight end tells Vanity Fair he was “so embarrassed” over his year-long suspension for smoking weed. “I didn’t want to look at anybody,” he remembers about that time, moving in withhis brother Jasonshortly after to ensure he stayed in line with the school’s rules.
The suspension even confoundedKelce’s father, Ed, who says he regularly spoke with Travis about the matter after the punishment was handed down.“I told him it’s a great learning opportunity. Live with it. Grow from it. Learn from it. It is what it is, and you just have to deal with it now,” Ed tellsVanity Fair. “All the while, I’m biting my tongue about how stupid it is that they’re going to suspend a college kid for smoking pot. Give me a f—ing break.”
source: people.com
